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The Office: Season 8 Episode 24: Free Family Portrait Studio – TV Review

Jeffrey Hyatt — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:01:25 +0000

It’s not official, but it looks as if NBC will go with The Office for a ninth – and probably final – season. But there’s still the business of wrapping up season eight, which is best described as inconsistent. It’s always good to end on a high note. The Office did no such thing with “Free Family Portrait Studio”. There’s a few laughs and sweet moments, but still another mediocre episode from a mostly mediocre season. Even with all the negatives, the show deserves one last season to make it all okay.

Check out our full review below…

The Players:

Director: B.J. Novak
Writers: B.J. Novak
Cast: Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, James Spader, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith

Episode Title: “Free Family Portrait Studio”

Andy returns with a secret plan while Dwight tries to steal a DNA sample to prove the paternity of Angela’s baby.

The Good:

Goodbye RC: Many of us are bummed that James Spader and his sexed-up, booze-loving Robert California will not be back next season. His exit strategy was pretty awesome, considering he gets to chill with hot gymnast-babes from eastern Europe. He brought some great moments to season eight. Thanks RC.
Darryl: It took the entire season for me to give a damn about Darryl and his storyline with Val, but in the end, the very end, they wrapped it up nicely – funny and sweet.
Jim: “What was that accent?” Aside from Jim’s facial expressions during the photo shoot, this line regarding Andy’s odd behavior was the highlight.
David Wallace: Looks like he’s back. Let’s hope he gets more screen time next season.
Nellie: The much-maligned Nellie had a great line to Gabe: “Get out skeleton Man!”
Toby: “Do you see David Wallace in the room right now?” That line directed at Andy provided a chuckle.
Angela/Dwight: The hand-holding at the close was very sweet. That’s good because everything leading up to it mostly sucked.
Mose: The appearance of Mose is terrific, haircut included. But watching Mose run away from Angela was an even better treat. Might have been worth it to just show five minutes of Mose running around.
Goodbye Kelly: With Mindy Kaling’s show getting picked up by Fox, it’s so long to Kelly. We’ll see how they deal with her absence next season.
Ryan: The Ryan signs during the photo shoot were definite highlights.

The Bad:

I Hate You Ed Helms: Not really. But Andy is now a tiresome character. It looks as if Helms is returning for next season, and let’s hope something can be done to make his character be less annoying and terrible. Also, his relationship with Erin is boring. It’s not as if they don’t make a good couple, but hopefully there is something to be done to spice it up.
The Entire Episode in General: Yes, there were some humorous moments, but the whole show felt stiff. There was no rhythm, just a couple funny lines of dialogue sprinkled throughout.

Overall:

And so we close the books on season eight. The transition season can finally be put to bed. There was good comedy throughout the season, but my goodness the show felt clunky from start to finish. Many viewers were probably counting the seconds until “Free Family Portrait Studio” ended.

Unless there is a massive shake-up at the last minute, it looks as if the show goes on, now with new management and…. what? Where do they go from here? David Wallace is scooping up Dunder Mifflin from the wreckage of Sabre, Andy is back as manager, and….?

There’s lots of talk about a clearing of the decks on the show and starting fresh next season. Looks like Jenna Fischer, Helms, and John Krasinski are signed on for next year, which is good if you like those characters, but Rainn Wilson/Dwight is probably gone mid season with his spin-off, so it will be interesting to see where the show goes from here.

Many were hoping NBC would put the show out of its misery, but The Office deserves to have a last go at it, to make amends for what could be argued as a lost season, and finish the series on a high note.

There was good comedy in season eight. The ensemble is still first-class, even when the material is suffering, and the show can still be very funny when it wants to be. But the chuckles and laugh-out loud moments were few and far between.

Plenty of folks would be happy to see The Office wiped off the board for next season. They would have plenty of reasons after what we watched happen during season eight. But I’m happy a season nine is close to a reality – I have high hopes for a successful rebound!

Rating: 6/10

The Office airs on NBC at 9pm (ET/PT) on Thursday nights.

What did you think of last night’s episode?

The Office: Season 8 Episode 23: Turf War – TV Review

Jeffrey Hyatt — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:54:22 +0000

The penultimate episode of season eight of The Office delivers many laughs, and sets the table for the finale of what has been an up-and-down season for the TV comedy. With a boozy Robert California in the thick of the storyline, along with vintage Jim and Dwight hi-jinks, “Turf War” should bring a smile to even the most dissatisfied fan of The Office.

Check out our full review below…

The Players:

Director: Daniel Chin
Writers: Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan
Cast: Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, James Spader, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith

Episode Title: “Turf War”

A drunk Robert California shuts a neighboring branch, setting off a sales war for the clients; Andy plots his comeback.

The Good:

RC: As good as Jim and Dwight were together, “Turf War” is dominated by the sexed-up, boozed-up Robert California. James Spader delivered some dynamite lines that were funny as hell. The scenes with Pam, the lizard king reference, the Geisha stuff, the moment with Andy in the kitchen… all highlights.
What’s Better Than a Hung Over Robert California?: A vomiting Robert California next to Jim’s desk. The man can dive into a wine bottle, yes?
Jim: Possibly the best Jim episode of season 8. Busting out the ‘so you’re saying there’s a chance” line to Dwight was great. The facial expressions were having a good night.
David Wallace: Only on screen for 10 seconds? No problem – he still gets a mention in the rundown. Great hair! If there is a season 9, do we get more D. Wallace? Let’s hope so.
Pam: Nice to see the writers make good use of the talented Jenna Fischer. Nice scene with Nellie.
Lloyd Is A No Nonsense Guy: Toby gets to play a tough guy salesman. Short scene, but terrific.
Angela: Couldn’t have been on screen more than a minute, but funny as usual.
Fast & Furious: The entire car scene with Jim and Dwight and the NOS reference to The Fast and the Furious is comedy gold. Gold!
Gabe: The writers showed Gabe the love as well, with the cold open, and his “ovaries in my scrotum” line. Not sure about the new Gabe haircut.
Dirty Messages: There needs to be a transcript of the voice mail Robert left for Nellie. It must have been triumphantly naughty.

The Bad:

Mrs. California: Back on episode 9 we met Susan, Robert’s wife, played by the lovely Maura Tierney. It looked as though we’d be seeing her again. Robert mentions the finale of their divorce in the latest episode, but Susan has been nowhere to be found. So it’s a bummer that, barring an appearance in the finale, that Mrs. California never made her return.
Andy: Once again in his usual spot on the Bad List. Up until he gets motivated to make things happen with the up-for-grabs client, I was hoping Ed Helms would walk off the show right there. The ‘Andy is hanging out at the office’ deal turned annoying quickly. Even his cooking up cherries jubilee in the lobby did nothing. But he redeemed himself with a visit to Homer Simpson…er! Dan Castellaneta.

Overall:

The immediate, don’t over-analyze opinion here is that “Turf War” is a top three episode of season 8, with a chance of it being number one.

There is a liveliness in the episode, which we’ve not seen much of this season. Even the Office viewers who have pretty much signed the show’s death certificate already would have to agree there was some fine comedy packed into the half-hour.

The ensemble was in top form, and the script terrific. Many in the cast shined in “Turf War”, notably Jim and Dwight – working great together as usual -, and good, old Robert California. This might have been the best Robert California episode, along with “Pool Party”. That verbal bashing of Andy towards the end after he hears of Andy’s blackmail plan, plus the lizard King line, a nice tip of the cap to Jim Morrison, was simply awesome. I believe he calls Andy: “…ineffectual, privileged, effete’… soft-penis, debutante…..”

For a minute, it looked as though the writers were just dusting off old scripts when Andy went Michael Scott-style to pull clients away from his old office mates. But thankfully we see a clever wrinkle in his plans, which leads all the way to the front door of David Wallace.

Now that we know the company is apparently headed over a cliff courtesy Robert California, there’s a bit more urgency heading into next week. But it looks as if Andy is going to save the day, which is either awesome, or terribly annoying, depending on whom you ask.

As for “Turf War”, it was good, very good, and a nice way to get set for the season/series finale.time. The Office can still bring it when it wants to.

Rating: 8/10

The Office airs on NBC at 9pm (ET/PT) on Thursday nights.

What did you think of last night’s episode?

The Office: Season 8 Episode 19: Get The Girl – TV Review

Jeffrey Hyatt — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 03:30:06 +0000

With the Florida storyline wrapped up,”The Office” now has the whole ensemble back in Scranton, where Nellie shows up angling for Andy’s job. He’s down in Florida trying to close out the weekly ‘Andy Loves Erin’ segment of the show. Catherine Tate and James Spader deliver the comedy hits in the Rain Wilson-directed “Get the Girl” episode, which is uneven, but shines in enough spots to make it enjoyable.

Check below for the complete review…

The Players:

Director: Rainn Wilson
Writers: Charlie Grandy
Cast: Rainn Wilson, James Spader, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith

Episode: “Get the Girl”

With the Sabre store debacle a memory, Nellie shows up in Scranton and tries to claim Andy’s job. Speaking of Andy, he drives down to Florida to win back Erin.

The Good:

Chumbo: Nellie referring to Kevin as Chumbo was good. Jim explaining the possible origins of the name Chumbo was better.
Erin/Andy: So it’s done. Andy and Erin are back together. The storyline was just okay for me, but they both had some charming/funny moments.
Robert: Happy to see Robert California back for a full episode. And Spader did not disappoint. The nature vs. sexual metaphor option conversation with Jim was great, as was his quote: ‘sometimes the flowers arrange themselves.’
Rainn: The talented Rainn Wilson had double-duty as director for “Get the Girl” and his usual Dwight awesomeness. “Those who can’t farm, farm celery.”
Kevin: Yep, a hot tub party is the bet way to get to know someone. The sad face about Tinkerbell dying was also a prime Kevin moment.
Creed: His “I’ll sue” line to Dwight was a good one.
Cold Open: I liked the sad/happy balloon open. They continue to spin out solid openers.

The Bad:

Nellie: As much as I liked the Nellie storyline, it fizzled a little toward the end. I was tired of listening to Nellie by the close of the episode.

Overall:

Robert California’s return added a spark, as well did Nellie’s commandeering of the manager position. And then we had the finale of the Andy-Erin storyline, which ended in a way we all knew would happen. And that’s cool. They make a quirky couple.

The ensemble did fine work, with funny moments all around, even if for most of the cast they were brief.

I laughed. I chuckled. I was bored here and there. Just another typical experience with The Office this season. No word on certain cast members re-upping for next season, so the writers have some room to maneuver in terms of crafting plots for the end of the season. Or maybe it’s all been written, regardless if Jim or Andy return. Mindy Kaling’s Kelly Kapoor is probably good as gone, so we’ll see how they wrap her character in the coming weeks.

All-in-all, not a bad episode. There have been worse. And this is another one I will re-watch later and probably like better the second time around.

Rating: 7/10

“The Office” airs on NBC at 9pm (ET/PT) on Thursday nights.

What did you think of last night’s episode?

The Office: Season 8 Episode 18: Last Day In Florida – TV Review

Jeffrey Hyatt — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:04:40 +0000

“The Office” wraps up its sojourn to Florida with plenty of laughs and yet another Dwight-Jim confrontation. Robert California returns briefly, and the Erin-Andy story looks like it’s about ready for a finale. An uneven episode is once again saved by the hijinks in Florida. Maybe they should just leave that group down there!

Check below for the complete review…

The Players:

Director: Matt Sohn
Writers: Mindy Kaling
Cast: Rainn Wilson, James Spader, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith

Episode: “Last Day In Florida”

After Robert California reveals that he doesn’t like Nellie’s business plan, Jim tries to save Dwight from being fired. Meanwhile, Andy learns that Erin isn’t coming back to Scranton.

The Good:

Dwight/Jim: Dwight helping Jim up after their wrestling match – and Dwight seeing for his own eyes what might have happened – was a solid moment for a superb TV duo. Dwight’s constant, hair-related putdowns of Jim were rather funny.
Tumblr: Ryan is on Tumblr? How did I not know this, and what is the url?
Erin/Andy: Erin was funny as she appears to be on the way to ruining that old woman’s life. The boiled Gatorade was a nice touch. And even I could feel the pain when Andy realized Erin was not coming back.
Toby: Not sure if the glasses thing is new, but I like it.
Cookies: Kevin dropping a rap on us about cookies was funny.
Kiss: The Meredith-Kevin kiss worked for me. The man is desperate for cookies!
Creed: The cold open was a winner. Creed handling the treasure box only seemed appropriate.

The Bad:

Cookies: This storyline turned really old, really fast. Once again, all the fun – and funny dialogue – is happening down in Florida. Sure, Toby does have a ‘star quality,’ but even he and Darryl singing and dancing couldn’t keep me interested.

Overall:

Something about this episode… One minute I am delighted by the brief return of Robert California, and the next I am bored watching Jim and Dwight wrestle in the hallway. Speaking of Jim feverishly trying to stop Dwight from getting his ass fired, I believe the closing moment when Dwight, having seen what might have happened to him, offers a hand to help Jim up after their tussle was one of my top 3 moments of the season – and I don’t even have a clue what the other two are. Considering the duo’s longstanding, and usually hilarious, rivalry, this was a simple moment that spoke a lot to how great the two characters have played off one another for eight seasons.

Okay, so that was all fine and sweet. The cookie business back at Scranton was boring. Kevin rapping about cookies, not boring, but the rest was forgettable.

I did like watching Erin kinda destroy that nice old woman’s life, as well as Andy’s sad/angry response to hearing she is not coming back. I guess now he bolts down to Florida and the romance is back on.

Watching Stanley slowly morph back into blah, Scranton Stanley as he realizes the Florida fun is over was a highlight.

So yes, there was much goodness splattered across the episode. But as a complete episode it is weak. The storyline that sent half the staff to Florida was a big success, unfortunately the ensemble left back in Scranton was left with not much to do. But now the whole gang is back and it’s into the home stretch for season eight.

Rating: 7/10

“The Office” airs on NBC at 9pm (ET/PT) on Thursday nights.

What did you think of last night’s episode?

The Office: Season 8 Episode 12: Pool Party – TV Review

Jeffrey Hyatt — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:20:41 +0000

“The Office” was going to put together a solid episode this season sooner or later, and “Pool Party” was definitely it. Maybe it was the ensemble in their bathing suits, or Robert California’s very specific, very x-rated vision for his expensive house, but plenty of positive things were happening in the episode, which resulted in an abundance of laughs.

Check below for the complete review…

The Players:

Director: Dean Holland
Writers: Owen Ellickson
Cast: Rainn Wilson, James Spader, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith

Episode: “Pool Party”

Robert California invites the staff to his house for one last party before he moves out. Erin uses Dwight to make Andy jealous.

The Good:

Robert California: A. It was great to have Robert around for a full episode. The man definitely had a specific dream for how he wanted his life, in his beautiful house in Scranton, to be. It was funny to hear Robert describe what erotic activities he would have liked to had taken place in the many spacious rooms around the house. Of course he’d be eating a leg of mutton in the kitchen! Who wouldn’t! The man wanted his own, real life version of Eyes Wide Shut — the good parts, with the nudity and the orgies and masks. A plush screening room to sit back with a bottle of wine (your own) and watch Last Tango In Paris, Emmanuelle 2 and Caligula? Sure, how could that triple bill of cinema not be awesome. I want to party with this man.

Naked: Then Robert gets naked and jumps into the pool. Bravo! Ryan and Gabe jumping in naked right after was also great. Ryan keeping his socks on was the cherry on top.

Erin: She rocked the one-piece. And she looked good.

Hick: Dwight might have had the line of the night when he pushed Erin into the pool: “You wanna play you little hick?!”

Pool: Things have been mediocre when the gang has ventured out of the office, but this pool party worked splendidly. Watching the ensemble let loose and have fun by the pool was fun. And Creed, in bathing suit playing guitar by the pool, was genius. Okay, so I thought Dwight had a heart attack right before commercial, but even that somewhat surprising moment helped make the episode such a winner.

Pretty: “You sound really pretty today” was also a highlight line of dialogue, delivered expertly over the phone by Erin.

Meatball’d: The cold open was funny. The twist at the end! Yes! Dwight and Stanley work a scam on Jim.

Idiot: Had to love when Dwight called Andy an idiot. So perfect.

The Bad (but not that bad):

Darryl: I had to pick something from an otherwise solid episode, so here it is: Darryl. His smallish plot was the least interesting and his wooing of Val is annoying.

Girl: The cute girl who is filling in for Pam – she totally has the hots for Jim, right? Are they setting something up for later? There was a subtle moment at the pool party when she looked for him. I find the whole thing crazy. Crazy, I say! Who is the woman!?

Overall:

I think “Pool Party” is my favorite episode so far this season. The Robert California and Erin/Dwight/Andy story lines were rock solid. Previous excursions out of the office have been blah, but the pool party setting really complimented the ensemble – and the sharp writing.

Even the brief moments between Toby and Oscar were well-played. Kevin was funny. Meredith had good lines. Ryan and Gabe did some hilarious ass-kissing to Robert “I want to be Bob Guccione” California.

The writers are still holding on to the Erin-Andy thing for future use, and then there is thing with the cute temp. So we’ll see what happens.

But “Pool Party” was loose and playful and it held up nicely start to finish, from the meatball-themed cold open to Gabe and Ryan dancing into the wee small hours of the morning in front of a passed out Robert. Great rhythm to the episode, which has been lacking from one episode to the next this season.

There has been plenty of negative things to say about “The Office” during season 8t, but “Pool Party” was a success, and the show deserves tons of praise and good vibes – at least for tonight.

Next week we might revert back to so-so material, but tonight the show rocked and spotlighted all the qualities – cast, writing – that makes the show a joy to watch.

Rating: 9/10

“The Office” airs on NBC at 9pm (ET/PT) on Thursday nights.

What did you think of last night’s episode?

Hesher: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Thu, 12 May 2011 23:30:10 +0000

This will actually be my second review of Hesher, and I’m back, because with some good edits, a sound remix and some well places music this movie has officially reached the potential that I saw in it back so Sundance 2010 (read first review review). Prepare for the awesome, well acted, original film that is Hesher. Now let’s see where I went wrong before…

The Players:

Directed by: Spencer Susser
Writing: Spencer Susser and David Michôd (screenplay), story by Brian Charles Frank
Actors: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie and actress/producer Natalie Portman
Original Music by: Frank Tetaz (as Francois Tetaz)
Cinematography by: Morgan Susser

The Plot:

Hesher is here until you want him. This is a story about when everything goes wrong and you have no way out, sometimes an unexpected hero shows up at your door, and sometimes that hero comes with homemade tattoos, a rapist-looking van, and a sever violent streak. Let the fun begin!

Comparisons:

Old Review: “Some of these moments were great and others were a little awkward and it was mainly because of the music.”
Update: All these problems have been fixed. And what originally took you out of the film, now brings you in. The music helps with the odd tone and keeping you engaged throughout the film. The sound is perfect, the edit is tight — they’ve made this film the best that it can ever be and it works extremely well.

Old Review: “…it’s pretty basic in a lot of ways and the plot is somewhat predictable.”
Update: Perhaps I said this because of how this film played or perhaps I just had Sundance goggles on, but I can say that on the second viewing this film I found it fresh, original and though it plays out as expected in a way, I enjoyed the ride even more the second time through.

Old Review: “The kid in this movie is absolutely amazing. No doubt about it, he had a big part in front of him with lots of highs and lows and he dealt with it like a pro…. Wilson was completely believable and heart-wrenching.”
Update: This still holds true. Devin Brochu was what first made me like the film, now it’s why I love it. Rain Wilson was and is extraordinary and it’s great to see him tackles such a serious role.

Old Review: “Levitt was as always intriguing and fun to watch. There were some moments where he looked more like a character of himself…”
Update: With the sound fixed and a few edits, his character excels. Yes you have to go with his extreme character, but this time his fucked up Jesus, savior type impression was amazing (and know that I called him that, he’s never admitted to it and you can see in our interview with him) and his parables are ones to live by. Nicely done.

Overall:

This film is a fun ride, it’s got some great acting, it’s well made and well put together, I still don’t by Natalie Portman as “common”, but overall it’s a great pick, well worth your time and if any film has a sequel or spin-off, I hope it’s “On the Road with Hesher”

New Rating: 8.75/10

Hesher hits theaters May 13th!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Trailer: Hesher Time for Some Rock N’ Roll Baby!

Mali Elfman — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:04:41 +0000

Director Spencer Susser is ready to rock your world, with one of the most bad-ass, hardcore films of the year, Hesher starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie and actress/producer Natalie Portman. The film was bought out at Sundance in 2010 by Newmarket and has taken its sweet time working its way into theaters, maybe it’s because of Natalie Portman’s recent popularity/winning streak but for some reason it’s finally found it’s way in and I for one say fuck yeah. Check out the trailer below…

I was lucky enough to catch this film out at Sundance in 2010 (read review) and all I can say is that sometimes in the midst of death, starvation, homophobia and molestation it’s fun to watch a guy with a tattoo of a guy giving you the finger try to jump a bike into a pool and fall. That’s not to say that this film doesn’t have some heavy moments and some fine acting in it, in fact it’s the intensity and seriousness is what makes it all the more funny and entertaining.

The film isn’t perfect, it’s pretty basic in a lot of ways and has a few problems along the way (which may have been fixed in the new cut), but they’re all small and forgivable mainly because the film is such a fun ride filled with such amazing actors and colorful characters. And this film is 10x better than the majority of mainstream films inundating the cinemas.

The film hits theaters May 13th.

What do you think of the film? Think it’s worth the price of admission?

Interview: Rainn Wilson for Super

Damon Houx — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:00:01 +0000

Being a superhero ain’t easy according to Rainn Wilson. For one, the costumes suck. Rainn was talking about his latest film Super, which hits theaters and VOD Friday. The character James Gunn came up with for him is a slightly disturbed short-order cook, who loses his wife (Liv Tyler) to a scumbag and is told by God to become a superhero. It’s a strange film but Wilson was more than game to play his slightly off leading man, who gets a superhero side kick in Libby (Ellen Page) – a comic book fanatic more than happy to play along and forces her way into being his side kick and names herself “Bolty.” Check it out.

How do you like wearing spandex?

Rainn Wilson: Spandex sucks. It looks cool – well, supposedly it looks cool – but Shreveport in the winter, where they promised it was only going to be fifty degrees, was seventeen degrees the whole shoot. And we were running around all night and all day in spandex and it was crazy. It was not fun and stinky, it gets really stinky fast. And that cowl I wore was really sweaty and awful. But I don’t want to complain. Spandex was not the highlight so I don’t recommend it.

So they put you with a serious trainer in order for you to pull off this role?

RW: No training happened. I did have a stunt guy who did some of the stuff but the only thing I had to learn was how to shoot a gun. I’ve never been in a gun range before and I’ve never shot guns. Michael Rooker – who plays Abe in the movie who’s one of the thugs – is a big gun enthusiast. He has all kinds of guns and he took me to the gun range and we blasted away at targets. I was the only Prius in the parking lot. I went with my poet friend and he’s literally a poet who lives outside of Woodstock. The biggest peace-knick you’d ever know and he loves the gun range and he wants to go back. It’s so much fun and it’s really powerful.

In addition to your gun training and handling, any training for welding that pipe wrench (his character’s favorite weapon)?

RW: You know, the important thing here as why I didn’t do any training is that Frank is an ordinary guy. He’s an ordinary line-cooker, an ordinary schlub who becomes a superhero. And I never wanted him to feel that all of a sudden he becomes Chuck Norris or anything like that. He doesn’t do a triple back ninja flip or anything like that. He’s just an ordinary guy who’s on a mission. He’s obsessed, he’s driven and he just smashes in heads and that’s what I wanted. He puts on that costume and it changes how you walk, changes how you move, changes how you view the world. And then he just comes up to people and just bashes them. There’s nothing fancy about it.

When did you become involved with the project?

RW: James Gunn used to be married to Jenna Fisher who plays Pam in “The Office.” We were on the set of “The Office,” and this is a true story, this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Jenna Fisher. She said, “Rainn, I was talking to James the other night and I asked him how come he never did anything with that script called Super. It was my favorite script he ever wrote. He said, ‘Well I don’t really have anyone to play the lead role of Frank.’” And she said, “What about Rainn?” And he said, “Oh, that’s a great idea.” He sent me the script right over on Dwight’s desk and I printed it out and read it in my trailer. I was on board from then on. I’d seen and loved Slither, and I thought he mixed humor, horror and psychology really well. When I read the script I fell in love. It’s so messed up in so many different ways, but in a good way because it blends — It’s hard putting your finger on what the movie is. Is it a dark comedy? Is it an action movie? Is it a romance? Is it a drama? It’s got aspects of all of it and I love how he weaves all of those things into one world.

Speaking of all of that, what was it like working with Ellen Page – who’s the complete opposite of your character?

RW: It was important that Frank, my character, stays grounded and be really believable and heartfelt. He’s the steady kind of bass line of the movie in a way so that weird characters like Boltie (Ellen Page) and Jacques (Kevin Bacon) could spin out. It was great working with Ellen. We’ve worked together for one day on Juno before and this was another opportunity. We get along great, we have really similar sense of humor and she made me laugh like crazy. She’s phenomenal in the movie, she’s kind of the comical part. It interesting for me to sit back and let someone else kind of do the comedy.

The character is inspired by comic books, but it strikes me that cinematically this is more along the lines of Death Wish or even Taxi Driver. Was there a frame of reference for you when you were making this? Was there anything you watched to get in the mood?

RW: I’m glad you brought that up because people always ask those superhero movie questions but really it is a lot more like Falling Down, Death Wish or Taxi Driver than it is like Iron Man, Batman or something like that. It’s a character driven study and he just happens to dress up like a superhero. If he just went like Rambo and put on fatigues it’d be a very different movie. The absurdity is that he puts on this costume. But did I watch something? No, I don’t really do that so much. I think that my tradition as an actor – not to get all into the actor’s studio on your ass- I just get into the character. Who is this guy? Where does he start and where does he end? What does he go through all the way? What aspects of him are important physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically. So it’s just about really investing in the character.

Now along that same line, there’s an innocence that Frank has. When he was trying to create his costume, looking for things and trying to sew, when he gets the crayons to color pictures and things like that. Does that take you back, did you draw on your own childhood in dreams of playing superheroes?

RW: I think we all have that aspect of us where every kid at some point pretended to be a superhero, even girls. And to have magical powers, be able to fly and to just feel that power. Sure, I mean I always draw, I think every actor draws on themselves when playing a role. What would this be like and what was this like for me when I was a kid. So sure, it was definitely part of — I had a rich, deep fantasy life when I was a child. It was definitely along those lines.

Do you like having people dress up like your characters? I’m assuming that every Halloween now there’s a bunch of Dwights.

RW: Yeah, I read them on Twitter. There’s a lot of Dwights during Halloween, Dwight and Angela’s and stuff like that. I really like the bobble heads and the merchandising and the Clue games. There’s all kind of “Office”-themed games.

Did James (Gunn) just give you a lot of leeway in terms of ad-libbing or did you have a script that, because of the satiric quality of the material…

RW:I told him early on, I said “look, I’m playing this character pretty seriously and I’m going to go on this journey as Frank. My job is to bring heart to it, nobility and life to the role. I’m not going to really approach it as a comedic role. If you want extra comedy or you think something should be funny and let me know, I’ll improvise but I’m going to come in and pretty much stick to the script.” I love the script, I just love the way it was written. There were a couple of scenes we improvised between me and Ellen (Page), but I really wanted to really believably and truthfully bring the role of Frank to life. Cause it’s such a crazy movie with the special effects and violence.

What did you take away from this experience of making Super?

RW: This movie was a labor of love from the beginning. It was a real bitch to get made, it was really hard to get funding, wasn’t actually that hard to pull the cast together but it was just hard to get made. Its a really tough environment for films right now, young people just aren’t going out to the movie theaters to see independent films. They’ll go see Transformers 2 but they’re not going to pay ten dollars to go see 500 Days of Summer or an interesting indie. So it’s a tough environment and what I learned is that you can do and it was kind of like we we’re all in this together and it almost felt like we’re doing theatre. We’re all in this, lets put on a show and let’s make this movie happen. It was just a labor of love and what did I get out of it was just a really good feeling of just a really exciting feeling of having made something really special I believed in from the very beginning.

Super comes out Friday, April 1st. Check it out.

Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page in Super Movie Trailer

Krystal Clark — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:08:10 +0000

The first trailer for James Gunn’s feature film Super has been released. The movie is about a vigilante superhero and his overeager sidekick. Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page are the sadistic duo that take matters into their own hands when the cops fail. The play by their own rules and the law need not apply. Check them out in action…

Super centers on regular guy who takes on a superhero alter ego when his wife falls under the spell of a notorious drug dealer played by Kevin Bacon. And by spell we mean heroin, coke, crack, whatever drug he has in his arsenal. After she becomes a full on druggie he’s pushed to the edge and decides to take matters into his own hands.

Bacon looks pretty snazzy in this trailer. Granted he plays a horrible person, but he dresses nice. He’s almost a more modern version of his character Sebastian Shaw in X-Men First Class.

Doesn’t this bring back old Juno memories to see both Page and Wilson together again? It’s been too long.

Super opens in theaters on April 1st.

What do you think of the first trailer for Super? Does it look funny?

Source: Yahoo Movies

First Poster for James Gunn’s Super with Rainn Wilson

Krystal Clark — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:07:13 +0000

The first official poster for James Gunn’s upcoming superhero flick, aptly titled Super, has been released. The film features Rainn Wilson (“The Office“), whose face and terrifying eyes are the focal point on the one sheet. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Batman was poorer, less in shape, and less intelligent you’d have Super. Check out the full sized poster below…

Screw you crime! We love yelling at figurative elements as if they’re people. If you have no idea what the tone of this film is, you should check out the preview clip that was released a few months back. It’s hilarious and disturbing.

On another note, does anyone find it strange that Kevin Bacon appears in this movie as a villain and in X-Men First Class as a villain? Someone knows their niche!

What do you think of the poster for Super?

Source: Cinemablend

The Office: Season 7 Episode 17: Todd Packer – TV Review

Joseph Oliveto — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:03:53 +0000

This week’s episode of “The Office” delivered the laughs and proved once again that this season isn’t as awful as it seemed to be at first. The return of Todd Packer amps up the comedy, and while there was probably room for more jokes, we’re not displeased with the final product. Very few episodes lately have been as strong as the early ones, but it’s still an entertaining show. Read our review to see how we felt…

The Players:

Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Amelie Gillette
Cast: Steve Carell, Amy Ryan, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Ed Helms

Episode Title: “Todd Packer”

A familiar character from early seasons returns this week, and while Michael is happy and Holly is blissfully ignorant, just about everyone else is not too pleased with the sudden presence of Todd Packer in the office. His jokes and overall attitude are so grating that sworn enemies Jim and Dwight team up with one another to prank him. In the meantime, after Pam buys a new computer for Erin, Andy wants one too, and Pam breaks some rules help him out.

The Good:

Todd Packer: Hey, we know that this character is supposed to be a jerk, and with that in mind, it’s easy enough to just enjoy the fact that he is an obnoxious pain in the ass. After all, you can’t be a fan of “The Office” if you want all of the characters to behave reasonably. It’s kind of funny to have a character who needs to come to the realization that “it’s probably not ok to call my daughter a bitch in front of other people.”
Jim and Dwight: Although their partnership gets off to a pretty rocky start when Dwight rejects one of Jim’s prank ideas and Jim pulls it on Dwight in retaliation, it was a nice change of pace to see these two collaborating on a project. Even if that project did involve sending Todd on a trip to Florida.
Kevin: It’s an easy joke to make, but when Kevin gets angry and admits that he has “very little tolerance for stupidity,” it’s hard not to laugh. His insistence on not being offended by Todd’s obviously insensitive comments is also enjoyable; he really hits the “trying not to cry” notes perfectly.

The So-So:

Holly: Holly is a little inconsistent in this episode. Sure, she is swayed by Michael’s enthusiasm for Todd and is impressed by his sales, but her wishy-washy take on Todd is a little unrealistic.
Andy: Andy is usually a fairly nice guy, but he acts very selfishly this week. He cares too much about Erin to just take her computer the way he does. It didn’t seem to fit with his character.

The Bad:

Jim and Pam: Ok, now “The Office” is getting too realistic! Since these two have been married, their relationship has been at worst non-existent, and at best forced and tense. It’s a minor complaint, but we do miss some genuine romance on this show.

Overall:

Not fantastic or memorable by any standards, but a pretty entertaining episode nonetheless. The laughs keep coming, the writing is sharp, and there isn’t a moment when we felt like changing the channel. These aren’t the kinds of episodes that made “The Office” wildly successful, but they are the kind that made it worth watching after a long day of work.

Rating: 8/10

“The Office” airs every Thursday night on NBC!

Photo Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode? Tell us in the comments!

The Office: Season 7 Episode 16: Threat Level Midnight – TV Review

Joseph Oliveto — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:56:44 +0000

THE OFFICE SEASON 7: Having fully set-up the Michael/Holly relationship, “The Office” takes a break from the romantic angle this week and treats viewers to a gimmicky but effective episode which scores the laughs and showcases the talents of the various actors who appear on the show. We don’t know how long this series can last without Steve Carell, but we hope that from time to time, more focus is placed on these kinds of episodes.

The Players:

Director: Tucker Gates
Writer: B.J. Novak
Cast: Steve Carell, Amy Ryan, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Jenna Fischer

Episode Title: “Threat Level Midnight”

This week references an earlier episode in the series when the office convenes to watch the final production of Michael’s movie, Threat Level Midnight. While the film is only slightly better than an Uwe Boll movie, the cast gets a kick out of seeing their characters on screen. Holly, however, doesn’t feel like it is the next Citizen Kane; predictably, Michael is not pleased.

The Good:

Humor-centric: In recent episodes, we’ve been focusing on the budding relationship between Michael and Holly, so it was nice to take a little break from all the drama and enjoy an episode that exists primarily to make us laugh. Sure, there’s a tense moment around the halfway mark, and yes, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” got more laughs with a similar episode last year, but for the most part, this one kept the humor coming.
Flashback: While thankfully avoiding the cliches of a clip-show episode, this week gave us a look back at previous seasons by briefly bringing back characters like Jan and Karen while also reminding us of a time when Jim and Pam were still longing for one another. Now if only David Wallace has made an appearance…
Toby: Toby’s involvement in the Scranton Strangler trial has kept him away from the office, but he returns this episode as a character in Threat Level Midnight–he plays “a wanted animal rapist”–who gives the movie its bloodiest and perhaps most memorable scene.
Andy: Ed Helms shows off his acting skills yet again as a bartender in Threat Level Midnight who epitomizes the way someone like Michael Scott would perceive blue-collar workers. Everything from the accent to the obsession with sports is pitch-perfect, and because Andy appeared in a play earlier this season, it’s very in keeping with his character.
Creed: Creed’s role in Threat Level Midnight is the Mr. Miyagi figure. He’s an American-Indian who teaches Michael the intricacies of hockey by having him mop the rink first. He totally sells it.

The So-So:

Production values: This episode asks us to suspend our disbelief a little too much. Sure, Michael’s movie is poorly made, but it does look like something with a genuine budget and cinematographer. He simply wouldn’t have these resources at his disposal.

The Bad:

Gotta have drama: As was mentioned before, the general comedic tone of the episode is briefly interrupted by Holly’s dislike for Michael’s movie. Granted, this moment lasts only a couple of minutes, but it feels out of place; it would have been better to allow everyone to just enjoy the fun of film.

Overall:

Major plot developments involving Michael and Holly are certainly welcome, but with their relationship more or less established, it’s good to take a step back and let “The Office” make us laugh. That’s what it’s there for, and that is what it accomplished this week. Maybe this episode didn’t completely fulfill its potential, but it was still enjoyable.

Rating: 8/10

“The office” airs every Thursday night on NBC!

Photo Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode? Tell us in the comments!

ScreenCrave.com » Rainn Wilson

The Office: Season 8 Episode 24: Free Family Portrait Studio – TV Review

The Players:

Episode Title: “Free Family Portrait Studio”

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6/10

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Episode Title: “Turf War”

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Overall:

Rating: 8/10

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Episode: “Get the Girl”

The Good:

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Overall:

Rating: 7/10

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Episode: “Last Day In Florida”

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Overall:

Rating: 7/10

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Episode: “Pool Party”

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Overall:

Rating: 9/10

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Comparisons:

Overall:

New Rating: 8.75/10

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The So-So:

The Bad:

Overall:

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The Office: Season 7 Episode 16: Threat Level Midnight – TV Review

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The So-So:

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Overall:

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